由来
yoú lái · HSK 7
origin
🌱 由 (from) + 来 (come) = what something comes from = its origin
由 means from or cause; 来 means come. Together they name the from-where of a thing: its source or origin. Also sounds like yoú lái, the path a thing came along.
由 — pictograph of a gourd or vessel with a stem
由 originated as a pictograph showing a gourd, fruit, or vessel with a sprout or stem emerging from the top. Over time the meaning shifted abstractly to 'come forth from' or 'origin', giving modern senses like 'reason', 'cause', and 'from'. It is unrelated to 田 despite the visual similarity.
来 — pictograph of a wheat plant with grain heads
来 originally depicted a stalk of wheat with drooping grain heads, and meant 'wheat' in oracle bone script. It was later borrowed phonetically to write the unrelated verb 'to come,' which became its dominant meaning. The original 'wheat' sense was taken over by 麥 (now 麦).